Giving by Florida foundations grows

Haitians in Miami receive services from the Sant La Neighborhood Center funded by the Knight Foundation.

The number of foundations in Florida, and their combined assets and grants, all grew by at least 30 percent between 2001 and 2006, a new report says.

During the five-year period, the number of foundations with headquarters in the state grew 30 percent, as did giving, while total foundation assets grew 35 percent, says the study by the New York City-based Foundation Center.

In 2006, Florida was home to 3,874 independent, corporate, community and operating foundations, which together reported assets of more than $19.2 billion and gave away a combined $1.2 billion.

Most of these groups are small, with more than half reporting less than $1 million in assets and awarding less than $50,000 in grants in 2006.

Nearly half the state’s foundations were established after 1995, including three of the largest — the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, and Turner Global Foundation.

Independent foundations were the state’s most generous grantmakers in 2006, giving a total of $322 million, or 27 percent of all grants made by Florida funders.

The top three givers were the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which gave $104.3 million in 2006; the Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, which gave $48.4 million; and Publix Super Markets Charities, which gave $29.1 million.

Education and human services were the most popular fields of interest among Florida grantmakers, listed as a focus area by 61 percent and 55 percent of foundations, respectively.

Environmental and animal causes and youth development were reported as priorities by only 5 percent of institutions.